


Vacanze Romane

by FreddieFoxBaxter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Age Difference, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Cross-Generation Relationship, Getting Together, HP Cross Gen Fest 2020, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Harry Potter, Porn with Feelings, Porn with some plot, Professor Harry Potter, Rimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:28:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25246906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreddieFoxBaxter/pseuds/FreddieFoxBaxter
Summary: When he let Scorpius help plan his vacation, Harry had no idea just how involved he would be.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62
Collections: HP Cross Gen Fest 2020





	Vacanze Romane

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the mod for hosting this fest, to F. for the patience aand bravery to beta-reading this and to ringelchen for the prompt, as you can see I went a little overboard with this and made a change to the initial prompt (I promise I only added quotation mark to “happens”), it was a fun excuse to write about this pairing, I hope you enjoy the fic that came out of it.  
> (The title means “Roman holidays”, and it’s a reference to the 1953 movie with Audrey Hepburn)

Harry turned the page of the book he was reading. It was the last one of a series of biographies of historical figures, his latest guilty pleasure, especially when he was on vacation. After reading so many versions of his own life, not that anybody had ever asked him anything or at least his permission to write about him, it had sparked his interest in the life of other famous people; he always wondered how much of those words were truthful and what was pure writer’s conjectures. He chuckled at the articles The Prophet might print if they found out that Harry Potter loved to read books instead of hunting down Dark Wizards, but, luckily for him, they had never been interested in the real man behind the image they helped build, which let him free to live however he wanted.

Even the rumors surrounding his divorce three years before had died down eventually, mostly because both Ginny and he had refused to feed even the smaller detail of their life to the press, and probably because Hermione had stormed their office with a team of Magi-lawyers ready to sue the whole staff unless they left them alone.

He had been warned that the weather in Rome would be extremely hot in the middle of July, but that afternoon there was a nice breeze which made it tolerable to be laying under a gazebo right next to the pools; they had filled while he was reading, but he had cast a spell to muffle the noise, so it didn’t bother him too much.

“Professor Potter.”

Harry lifted his eyes from the page at the familiar voice. Sure enough, Scorpius Malfoy was setting his towel on the lounger right next to Harry’s.

“Classes are over, I’m not your professor anymore,” Harry replied, indulging himself with a long look at the younger man’s ass.

“True, but habits die hard,” Scorpius smiled at him over his shoulder. Harry watched him apply his sunscreen, elegant pale fingers caressing his long legs, his chest and torso, and finally his arms.

“Would you mind helping me with my back?” Scorpius asked, handing him the dark bottle, apparently unbothered by Harry’s staring.

With a grin on his face, Harry held out his hand to take it. “Of course, we wouldn’t want you to get sunburnt,” he then said, crossing his legs to make space for Scorpius, who didn’t need any other invitation and sat down. Harry sighed as he began massaging his back; his skin was smooth and tender under his finger, already pinkish despite being under the sun for just a few minutes.

“Are you mad I came?” Harry arched his brow at the question; he didn’t miss the hesitation in Scorpius’ voice, almost like he expected Harry to scold him for it. The man had been planning his solitary vacation for weeks, and had a discussion with Scorpius about summer plans, but never extended a real invitation, the subject was left unspoken as he figured he had no real right to ask him.

“More surprised, actually. I thought the Malfoys spent their summers in Provence,” he finally answered with a shrug.

“We do,” Scorpius nodded without looking back at him “But I managed to convince You-Know-Who I was old enough to go on holiday with my friends.”

Harry chuckled. He never asked why Scorpius referred to his father that way, but it made him feel warmth in his chest that this new generation got to grow up in a world where that name could be used so casually. A bit disrespectful perhaps, but he found it weirdly endearing.

“So you are here with friends,” Harry said, taking away his hands to look around for said friends, but Scorpius shook his head.

“No.” Harry didn’t need to see his face to feel the amusement in his voice, as he sounded like a kid getting away with stealing cookies from under his mother’s nose.

“Do your parents know where you are at least?” The man frowned, he couldn’t help it, he was a father too after all.

“They do.” The answer came a bit too quickly to appease his suspicions as he finished spreading the oil over Scorpius shoulders.

Harry pressed his lips together, hit by a sudden thought. “Hmm,” he mumbled. He remembered the casual conversation he had with his own kids about their summer plans, and was now left to wonder if he really knew where they were. They were all adults, even Lily, his youngest, was going to be nineteen in a couple of months, but he couldn’t help but worry about them like he had done since the day they were born.

Scorpius’ voice pulled him out of the hole he was about to dig himself in. “I recall the promise of a prize if I passed all my finals with at least an O.”

Harry hid his smile as soon as Scorpius turned his head to look at him over his shoulder, a dangerous sparkle in his eyes.

Instead, Harry raised his brows. “I remember you asking for one, but I’m not sure I ever agreed to it.”

He had to twist his lips to stop himself from laughing at Scorpius’ pout, but he couldn’t deny he was curious. The boy was quite fun to hang out with, he came and went as he pleased, which suited Harry’s life perfectly and had kept him intrigued all those months, but as far as he remembered Scorpius never asked directly for anything.

“What kind of prize would you like?” Harry whispered, leaning in to brush Scorpius’ back with his lips. If the choice was his, he had pretty clear in mind what to offer, and made sure his face reflected the direction of his thoughts, but the look in those grey eyes suggested Scorpius had plenty ideas of his own.

“Not that,” Scorpius laughed, turning so they could look at each other, “I have a few things planned for us to do.”

“A few things?” Harry asked.

“Yep.” Scorpius licked his lips, a small smile curling them.

“Any more detail you want to share?” Harry asked, arching his brow, confused by Scorpius behavior; the innocent look on his face didn’t suggest anything sexual as Harry had expected since the first time he had talked about a reward for his grades, but a sparkle of curiosity blossomed inside his chest.

Meanwhile, Scorpius was shaking his head. “Nope, it’s a surprise,” he giggled as he stood back up.

“You coming?” he then asked, pointing at the pool behind him.

It was Harry’s turn to shake his head. “Nah, you go have fun,” he said, “I have my book,” he added, opening it again, up until then forgotten on the lounger. Scorpius chewed on his lower lip, but the amusement never left his eyes, not even when he realized Harry was serious about not going with him.

Harry laughed at the big splash Scorpius made jumping into the pool, water splashing everywhere in big waves, which gained him several bad looks from the people around them, clearly unappreciative of being splashed with the cold water while they were sunbathing. He kept watching Scorpius swimming away, one long stroke after the other before going back to the life of Catherine the Great. At the end of the chapter he lifted his eyes only to see Scorpius laughing with a guy on the other side of the pool. Harry left out a long sigh going back to his reading. It was none of his business who Scorpius flirted with, he reminded himself.

He was right in the middle of the Empress coronation when he noticed Scorpius coming out of the water and walking toward his lounger to take his towel, but Harry didn’t let his presence distract him. What did catch his attention, though, was the soft “Ouch” whispered soon after. As he lifted his eyes from the page, he noticed Scorpius shoulders and face were bright red.

“I got sunburnt,” the boy complained, turning his head to check his back.

Harry nodded. “I can see that.” He couldn’t help the scolding tone in his voice; Scorpius’ skin was so delicate it reddened with a simple scratch, it was irresponsible of him to spend hours splashing around under the sun. As sudden as it came, his anger melted away when Harry looked at his face. He immediately recognised the expression on Scorpius face, the boy was in pain. Harry rolled his eyes with a big sigh, putting down his book once again to sit straight up.

“Do you have anything to put on that?” he asked after taking a good look at his back, shining bright red under the sun of the late afternoon.

Scorpius covered himself with the towel. “I should have a balm back in my room.”

Harry sighed, standing up and picking up his things from the wooden table that came with the gazebo and the lounger. “Let’s go then,” he said, heading towards the door leading to the inside of the resort. To be fair, Scorpius was the one who suggested that place for his summer vacation once Harry had expressed his desire to visit the Italian capital. His skills with muggle technologies surprised him until Harry realized they were born out of the desire to spite his strict father, who instead insisted in living according to the rules of purebloods he was raised with.

The thought would have sent his mind spinning if he had stopped to reflect on - or worse ask Scorpius about - the reasons behind his pursuing of the affection of a man so much older than him, but Harry was never one to stop to think about things. That was probably why he had found his promotion to Head Auror so much harder than field work, pushing him to leave his career in law enforcement to begin a new one in teaching. Passing down knowledge suited him much better than having the responsibility of a team of agents on his shoulders.

The door opened on the main hall of a resort built to resemble a renaissance palace in the heart of the city, walls in white marble and the floor a mosaic of tiny tiles composing intricate designs. Harry had fallen in love with the place as soon as Scorpius had showed him the pictures, despite the contrast between the ground floor, both close to the original idea the resort intended to replicate, and the elegant modern building with the actual guest accommodations, such as the restaurant, the private spa and, beginning from the second floor, the rooms and the suites.

Harry had felt like splurging a little and had booked himself a suite on the last floor, which came with a private terrace, a marble bathroom bigger than his first apartment post Hogwarts and a breathtaking view of the city. Money well spent, especially considering it was way cheaper than he thought.

Once in the lift, Scorpius pressed the button for the seventh floor, much to Harry's surprise , given the suites were on the ninth, tenth and eleventh floors, but he shrugged it off keeping all his comments to himself. However, he jumped at the sight behind the door Scorpius had opened.

“I think you might have been robbed” he said looking at the suitcase opened on the bed, clothes scattered everywhere, an empty bottle of water on the floor and a pair of shoes kicked in the corner. Scorpius followed the direction of his gaze before tilting his head and looking at him with a confused expression on his face.

“No,” he said, “Everything is where I left it.”

Harry did not find his words particularly amusing. He had never been to Scorpius’ place before, but if his hotel room was a good representation of how he lived, he was glad he never felt the need to. Dumbstruck, he watched Scorpius take his clothes and dumped them in the suitcase, which was then shoved in the corner beside the window, clearing the bed. Harry swallowed. Never in a million years would he have guessed the perfectly composed Scorpius Malfoy, the pride and joy of his family and the pureblood elite still clinging on to power, could be so messy.

“Should be in here,” Scorpius mumbled as he rummaged inside a the biggest wash bag Harry had ever seen, and a clinking sound made him fear he would soon have to take care of cuts in addition to the sunburn; a new side of Scorpius not particularly endearing.

He cut off that line of thoughts, grateful for the distraction when Scorpius lifted his face to look at him with a pleased smile. “Found it,” he announced all triumphant, dangling an ampoule filled with a light blue fluid before Harry’s eyes. Harry straddled on his ass as soon as Scorpius found a comfortable enough position to lay still on the bed, wrists underneath his chin and ankles crossed.

The bottle released a pungent, floral scent when he opened it, bringing back his memories of hours spent in the Greenhouses at Hogwarts, when flowers and plants were in full bloom and the smell got so intense under the sun he could taste it in his mouth. The fluid was dense, almost buttery and probably home-brewed. Harry got some on his fingers and then rubbed his hands together to warm it up, strengthening the scent, before he began rubbing Scorpius shoulders where his skin was redder.

He felt the muscles melting under his fingers, but it was hard to focus with Scorpius’ continuous whines and sighs. The balm was doing its job, because after a few minutes of treatment the skin looked more pinkish than red, and Scorpius stopped complaining every time Harry touched a particularly burnt spot. As Scorpius fell silent, Harry took a bit more of the fluid and went back to work, kneading his shoulder with more strength than he had used before, truly working on the tension spots he had felt in his first, lighter massage. It didn’t take long before Scorpius began making noises again, but now they sounded like purring. Harry grinned, slapping him on the ass still covered by his swimsuit.

“And here I thought you were in excruciating pain” he laughed.

“I am!” Scorpius protested turning to look at him over his shoulder. “That’s why I need something to distract me” he then added, pushing his ass towards Harry crotch, who chewed on his lip to stop himself from laughing again.

Harry lowered himself to leave a peck between his shoulder blades.

“Is this distracting?” he asked, amusement dripping out of his voice.

Scorpius whispered, “A little.” Harry tilted his head to kiss the little mole behind his shoulder.

“What about this?” he asked again, breathing against his sensitive skin, and Scorpius sighed.

“A bit better.” Harry smiled. He had only just begun.

With a smile tugging at his lips, he kissed him again and again, changing spots every time, pleased by the reactions the kisses got out of Scorpius. A giggle when he kissed his side, a sigh when he gently bit under the shoulder blade, a gasp when he slid down his back to lick his spine and then lapped the dip of his dimple at the end of it. Like a musician tuning his instrument, Harry adjusted his teasing to get all the sweetest sounds out of Scorpius.

His first moan flipped the mood. Up until then Harry had been playing around, mellowed in his first-day-of-holiday state of mind, but Scorpius moaning underneath him brought him back to reality. They hadn’t seen each other for weeks, both busy with exams and finals, although on different sides of the barricades, and Harry missed him despite his unwillingness to admit it out loud. His warmth, his passion, his body, Harry missed it all.

It had been too long and his dick agreed with him, jerking against the loose swimsuit Harry was still wearing, rubbing against the smooth fabric and yearning for action. Harry clenched his jaw. He would never get used to the visceral reaction Scorpius raised in him. All the guilt and doubts about his feelings turned to ashes by his mere presence, compelling him to give in.

And Harry did, all the times Scorpius had come up to him, all smirks and sparkling eyes, consuming Harry’s soul one piece at a time.

He snorted at the direction his thoughts had taken. Nothing in their relationship was anywhere near romance-territory. This was fun and light and fragile. That was the beauty of younger lovers in his experience, so easy to charm, but at the same time impossible to tie down.

Harry leaned forward, nuzzling behind Scorpius’ ear, his natural scent imperceptible underneath the balm and the chlorine from the pool.

Scorpius was growing impatient and moved his hips to rub his ass against him, forcing a chuckle out of Harry. No matter how much he tried to teach him, Scorpius never learnt the pleasure of waiting.

So Harry gave in once again. He sat back up and went back to massaging his shoulders and his back, gently caressing all the spots he had kissed before. By then, Scorpius’ skin had warmed up from the cold pool water and was enticing him like freshly whipped cream.

Harry brushed the tip of his fingers down the curves of his back till they bumped into the elastic band of his swimsuit. Without further warning, he pulled it down to his thighs, baring Scorpius’ ass, so perfect and perky the thought of it was enough to make Harry hard.

“How is this for a distraction?” Harry grunted, kissing him between the dimples right above the curve of his ass. Scorpius didn’t answer this time, instead he pushed his hips higher, in a no-words-needed request for more. Harry shook his head, bemused by that reaction, so mellow and yet demanding. He patted on Scorpius’ inner thigh, glad he understood what he meant and opened them up for him to sit right between them.

Harry wasted no time, he parted his buttocks, brushing the tip of his finger against the pinkish hole hidden between them, pleased by the moan that slipped out of Scorpius’ lips. Tugging his cheeks a bit further, Harry forced the hole to slightly open up, smiling at the view.

“You’re so beautiful from here, kitten,” he whispered tilting his head forward to brush his flattened tongue against it, sliding downwards, and Scorpius squirmed, Harry’s touch too light to satisfy him. The man grinned, going back to eat him out, lapping and teasing it, but still light and playful, testing Scorpius’ patience.

It didn’t take long. Scorpius’ hand shot into Harry’s messy hair, pulling him closer, demanding the pleasure Harry was delaying. That was all the encouragement he needed. Harry dug in, opening it with his tongue, taking in all that Scorpius had to offer, his taste, his scent and his sweet moans, louder now that Harry was finally fucking him with his tongue, darting in, licking and pulling him apart.

Harry was relentless in his teasing. He figured he could have stopped and watched Scorpius come undone as he dragged him over to the edge over and over without giving him the last push he needed to reach his pleasure, but it had been too long and his own body was now demanding satisfaction. He ignored Scorpius’ protests as he sat back up, rubbing the palm of his hand against his cock, aching and throbbing in his swimsuit.

Grateful for the wide range of Spells he learnt to cast without his wand, he was soon able to push a freshly lubed finger inside his lover, who sighed, delighted by at the new arousal. Harry prepared him quickly, twisting his finger to get him used to it. No more teasing in his movements, his urges as pressing as Scorpius’, who rolled his hips, pushing them backwards to meet Harry’s fingers. The man smiled, stopping his movements and letting his lover move his hips to stretch himself out on his fingers, reaching for his own pleasure. The sighed ignited sparks under Harry’s skin.

Scorpius got louder and louder with his moans and sighs, the sweetest of songs to Harry’s ears, but fell silent when he pulled out his fingers to push his cock inside him instead. He stopped when he heard him hiss and felt him tense up, leaning forward to kiss his neck and caress his back, soothing him as Scorpius got used to the intrusion. His needs so compelling that Harry was about to explode, but he wanted Scorpius to be there with him.

Scorpius relaxed back on the mattress, and only then did Harry pull out, slowly pushing himself in, inch after inch.

“You are so tight, kitten,” he growled, the effort of restraining himself had drops of sweat rolling down his back, but nonetheless he waited until Scorpius grabbed his ass to pull him against his body.

“Fuck me.” A prayer, an order, Harry had no idea, but at that point it didn’t matter. He left out a growling sound as he thrust inside his lover, his balls slapping Scorpius’ ass at every pounding.

Harry soon found the right pace. Scorpius’ body squeezed him tight, scorching hot and yet so sweet, Harry was sure that was how heaven felt like.

Orgasm building fast, Harry shook his head to resist the waves of white-hot pleasure crushing in his belly, refusing for it to be over so soon. He sat back on his heels, dragging Scorpius up with him and pulling him to sit on his lap; Scorpius didn’t complain at the sudden change, instead he shot his arm behind Harry’s neck, pulling him closer to clash their mouths together in a sweaty, hungry kiss that had Harry growling again against his lips. He rocked his hips to meet Harry’s thrusts, needy and smug in his teasing.

Harry caressed his stomach, fingers sliding up to his chest to pinch his nipple and Scorpius hissed, but not even the pain could stop him then. Eyes dark and stormy, lips cherry red and parted, Scorpius grabbed a handful of Harry’s hair as he arched his back, overwhelmed by an orgasm that left him quivering and melting into Harry’s arms. Harry bent to kiss him on the neck, rocking him until Scorpius came down from his high.

His own pleasure put aside for the moment, Harry basked in the effect he had on his young lover.

“Merlin, I missed that,” Scorpius panted after a while, before grabbing Harry’s wrists to free himself from his embrace and fall forward on his hands, giggling at the moan Harry uttered at the new position.

“Now it’s your turn,” he said looking at him over his shoulder, a smirk curling his lips and a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. Harry laughed, a new idea spinning in his mind; he mirrored Scorpius’ movement, bending over to bump his chest against Scorpius’ back, which allowed him to thrust in deeper and as slowly as he could, titillating Scorpius’ still sensitive body.

In return, Scorpius squeezed his muscles, evaporating every last ounce of control Harry had left. The man rode the waves of his orgasm, blurry vision and clenched jaw, his semen dripping out of Scorpius’ ass as soon as he pulled out to collapse on the bed, out of breath and shivering.

Scorpius’ laugh reached his ears muffled by the pounding of his heart. The mattress squeaked when Scorpius moved to throw himself into his arms, face buried in his neck, arm resting on his stomach and his ankle crossed with Harry’s, who was too exhausted to do anything else other than lift his hand to play with Scorpius’ hair, the sound of his breathing the last thing he heard as his mind dozed off.

He had no idea how much he slept, but the light in the room was dim when he opened his eyes, awakened by wet kisses on his neck and fingers tingling his belly. He had fallen asleep too tired to even pull up his swimsuit, but Scorpius had the decency to cover them both with a blanket.

“Hi,” Scorpius whispered, noticing Harry was awake, and he grumbled back a “Hello” mid yawn.

Scorpius’ fingers brushed against Harry’s limp dick, his intentions written all over his face when Harry cast a look in his direction.

“Haven’t you had enough?” he laughed, but Scorpius shook his head.

“Not yet” he said, licking his lips. That caught Harry’s attention, and his dick gave a jerk, signaling its interest as well.

“Why don’t I suck you off and then we go grab some dinner?” Scorpius offered with an innocent smile on his face, tapping his fingers on Harry’s belly. He snorted, lifting his eyebrows as he pretended to ponder on the request.

“Sounds like a nice plan,” he finally agreed, removing the blanket that slid on the ground with a soft swish.

That was all the permission Scorpius was waiting for. He fisted Harry’s dick tight, fingers wet with lube he had conjured he only knew where, and began stroking it with a lazy pace that had Harry furrow his brows. Scorpius smiled at him before crawling on the bed at his side, closing his lips around the dick head and sucking it, his cheeks hollowing from the effort and eyes closed. Harry watched him enjoying himself as if he was savoring his favourite treat. He got hard in Scorpius’ mouth, who licked and lapped and squeezed him with his lips, clearly trying to drive him insane.

“Why don’t you bring that nice ass over here?” he groaned, more than willing to return the favour. Scorpius gave him an amused look, smiling with his dick still down his throat, but then he turned his body, giving in to Harry’s request.

“No, no, no,” Harry shook his head, “I meant you sitting on my face,” he added brushing his knuckles against Scorpius’ buttocks. Scorpius turned his head to face him, a bright pink shade on his cheeks and dilated eyes. Harry lifted his brows, waiting. Scorpius hesitated a while longer, chewing on his lower lip before straddling on his face.

Grinning, Harry grabbed the pillow pulling it under his head; he caressed Scorpius’ ass with his thumbs. He had waited long enough, he decided, as he leant forward.

The second orgasm gave him the burst of energy Harry needed; he left Scorpius sprawled on the bed to go back to his room to take a shower and get dressed, as they agreed to meet again in the lobby one hour later. The receptionist had highly recommended a little-known _trattoria_ Harry wanted to try, but when he had explained to him how to reach it, Harry hadn’t realized it was in an alley behind Vatican City.

The unmistakable square looked surreal under the moonlight, empty of worshippers and tourists that usually packed it during the day. Warm lights casted ominous shadows over the façade of the Basilica; the noises of the city came in muffled through the colonnade, as if mundane Rome did not dare bother that sacred place.

Thinking Scorpius was still beside him, he turned around, but he had disappeared. He found him next to the fountain in the middle of the square, looking for the right perspective to take a picture with his muggle camera. Harry smiled turning around again, and took the opportunity to walk around the silent square. He brushed his fingers against the columns, marble still warm as the sun hit it all afternoon. In the shadows it was easier to focus his eyes on the statues of the Saints guarding over the square.

“Ready to go?” Scorpius asked, walking up to him.

Harry nodded, “Sure. Should be that way.”

He made himself a mental note to thank the receptionist for the recommendation. The restaurant was tiny and clean, a handful of tables covered with cotton tablecloths sporting a red and white squared pattern, dim lights and candles on every table, walls covered with pictures telling the history of the place, and the fat, bald cook working in the open kitchen at the end of the room was singing a tune in what Harry supposed was Italian, although he didn’t recognize the music.

Luckily for them, the young waitress that sat them spoke English well enough despite the thick accent. Harry smiled at her when she walked by with the next table orders and then went back to sip the wine she had recommended. _Chianti_ she called it, insisting until they both got the name right.

Waiting for their dinner, Scorpius showed him the pictures he had taken that morning while visiting the gardens of Villa Borghese. Harry was impressed. Among the classic, tourist-like pictures, there were other hidden gems. Harry smiled at the picture of a child feeding the ducks, rolled his eyes at the snap of a huge ice-cream cup and held his breath when they reached those of the pond; Scorpius had managed to capture on film the moment one of the ducks came out of the water, droplets all around it and wings wide open. He had vague memories of Scorpius taking pictures with and of his children when he came to visit or at King’s Cross, but he had no idea he had the talent beyond the passion. He blinked, wondering what Draco might think of that, but the waitress bringing their entrées distracted him from the thought.

Food was everything he expected from a place like that. Pasta cooked to perfection and the sauce finger-licking good; the rich flavors in his mouth matched heavenly with the wine.

Harry relaxed his back against the chair, listening to Scorpius talk about his day. They had never done this before, he realised pouring a second glass of wine for both of them. Sure, they had eaten together in the past, but it was usually a post-shag delivery meal, they had never sat down in public together like that.

They came out of the restaurant full and happy and a bit tipsy; stumbling back to the hotel, Scorpius sang the same song of the cook, butchering every single word judging by the looks they got from the people they bumped into along the way.

All his hopes of spending the night with a Scorpius in such a good mood got crushed when Scorpius kissed him goodnight and left him alone in the lift. Shaking his head, Harry pressed the button for the eleventh floor.

Not tired enough to sleep yet, he wore his bathrobe to enjoy another glass of wine on the terrace with the Eternal City at his feet, full of lights and muffled music, it felt alive, even from that distance.

Harry managed to read a whole chapter of his book before his eyes felt heavy enough for him to give up and go to sleep.

He woke up fresh and relaxed. Breakfast on the terrace improved his mood even further. He had hours before meeting with Scorpius again, so he decided to take advantage of the commodities the hotel had to offer, starting with the private spa, half empty at that early hour.

Around lunch time he emerged from a full body massage walking on clouds and wondering why he didn’t get one of those any other day. That was his very definition of a vacation, good food, relaxation and catching up on his sleep; also, he would never stop appreciating the privilege of anonymity. Outside the United Kingdom, nobody cared about Harry Potter anymore. He could walk around wearing just his bathrobe and slippers being sure that no paper would print an article about it. He smiled brightly at the receptionist, surprised when he winked back. Life was good.

He had a quick lunch up in his room and he took the opportunity to call his kids and his friends. Lying to them about his company was a necessary evil, he reassured himself, hanging up. They knew about his bisexuality, but the details of his sex life were nobody’s business but his own.

Dragging himself out of bed at two sharp, Harry was a few minutes late when he reached the hotel bar, but he doubted Scorpius minded as he was busy letting the barman chat him up, laughing and sipping his drink. Harry couldn’t blame the guy for shooting his shot. With his white shirt, short jeans exposing his long legs and dark shades on his head, Scorpius looked like he belonged on the first page of a fashion magazine.

He had no time to feel insecure because of the breathtaking smile Scorpius gave him as soon as he turned in his direction.

“So, what’s the programme for today?” he asked when Scorpius walked up to him.

“You’ll see,” he said covering his eyes with the shades, “I’ll be your _Cicerone_ today.” Harry snorted following him outside, surprised when Scorpius took the stairs leading down to the subway with the confidence of someone who knew what he was doing.

Embarrassing enough, Harry had never taken the subway before. He’d gotten so used to Apparating anywhere, to him it was a given they would move that way around the city, but, after finding him a spot to sit down, Scorpius assured him that was part of the experience. Harry pressed his lips together in a thin line, doubting about that, but Scorpius was too busy reading the map he had taken out of his back pocket to notice.

All his complaints about muggle public transportation died in his throat when they emerged from underground; a monumental door of Roman age opened on the other side of the road, leading into a huge square full of tourists despite the heat of the early afternoon.

Scorpius led him around, explaining the history of the square, with its fountains and the huge obelisk in the middle. _Piazza del Popolo_ , People’s Square. Harry looked around, fascinated, casting a side-eyed look at Scorpius when he caught him taking a picture of him sinking his fingers into the water of one of the fountains.

Their next stop was Spain Square, _Piazza di Spagna_. They sat at the feet of the staircase Harry had only ever seen in the movies, and Scorpius launched himself into telling the story of the square with its famous fountain. Harry didn’t find it particularly memorable, but he still paid attention and smiled at all the details about its architecture and history Scorpius added to his storytelling.

 _Trevi_ , now that was a monument. They got to it from such an anonymous alley Harry had no idea what he was supposed to look at, and then he gasped when he found himself in front of it. The statues shone under the late afternoon sun, and they looked alive in the golden light. He followed Scorpius as he walked through the crowd to get closer, smiling when he turned around to throw a coin over his shoulder into the water.

“According to the legends, you do that to be sure to come back to Rome,” he explained when Harry asked about it.

“How do you know so many things?” the man asked after Scorpius finished telling him about every single statue of the fountain.

“I did my research,” he shrugged, “I like to know the history of the places I’m going to see, so I read it up when I was planning my vacation.”

“Your vacation?” Harry teased him arching an eyebrow.

“Well, you know,” Scorpius stopped to take a picture, “I already forced myself into yours, I didn’t know if you wanted us to spend much time together, so I organized a few things to keep myself busy…”

Harry paused mid step as those words died down between them. He hardly got to see cracks into Scorpius fun and polite persona, but in that moment, with his chin tucked into his shoulders, he looked like a child waiting for a scolding.

“Of course I do,” he uttered, but doubt still shadowed Scorpius’ face, so he said it again, “I do”, hoping to bring back a smile on his face, but all he got was half smirk.

“Good, because we still have one thing to see before dinner.”

“Do you have something planned for dinner too?” Harry asked as they walked into a new square. It had an obelisk as well, but the fountain at its feet was magnificent.

“Well, I seem to recall the suites on the last floor have a private hot tub, I was thinking we could try out yours and order room service.”

Harry tilted his head, intrigued by the images Scorpius’ words had evoked into his mind. That was exactly what he thought the first time he laid eyes on the hot tub.

“I like your plan,” he nodded, “But first you must tell me about this fountain.”

They walked around it, with Scorpius stopping to take pictures and point out the many details of the monument; Harry watched the animals and plants sculpted in marble, speechless before the magnificence of the statues.

“They represent the major rivers on Earth,” Scorpius explained, “This is the Nile, that is the Danube, that one is the Ganges and finally you have the Rio de la Plata, they each represent a continent…”

As Scorpius kept talking about them, Harry looked back at the statues. He hadn’t missed a word of what he had to say all afternoon, enthusiasm clear in his voice, his skills in storytelling keeping him engaged through it all. He stopped complaining about Scorpius taking pictures of him every now and then, as it was a waste of breath. He did give him half a smile for the last one before they headed back to the subway.

“We can Apparate if you want to,” Scorpius said as they reached the stairs, but Harry shook his head.

“This is part of the experience,” he smirked walking past him.

They managed to find two spots and sat down next to each other; Harry cast a side-eyed look at Scorpius, who was ignoring him to watch the pictures he had taken during the day, he let his eyes wander around the train getting fuller at every stop. Bits and pieces of conversation span around him in different languages he didn’t understand, but he did recognise a few words in English and something that sounded like French. He smiled at the lady sitting in front of him trying to quiet down the crying toddler in her arms.

Harry moved his leg when Scorpius’ calf bumped against it, but he figured it was intentional when it happened again seconds later. Only then he realised how much he had missed Scorpius’ touch. They had been together all afternoon, but he had kept his hands to himself. His Auror training had kicked in allowing to catch a few unpleasant looks they got around the city and the last thing he wanted was ruining Scorpius’ day with a scene, or worse, putting him in a dangerous situation, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to touch him, run his fingers through his hair moving it away from his face or kiss the dimples blossoming on his cheeks every time he smiled.

So now, having Scorpius’ thigh pressed against his had turned on the heat in his belly, although they both acted like it was nothing and Harry kept looking up and down the wagon, ready to intervene at the first sign of trouble. There was none, but the weight didn’t lift from his stomach until the doors of the hotel lift closed before them; he smiled when Scorpius’ finger brushed against his, but he didn’t react as there was another couple with them. They waited in silence as the lift went up, one floor after the other, their finger still touching the only contact they allowed themselves to have.

“Is it presumptuous of me wanting to spend the night in your room?” Scorpius asked as soon as the couple got out on the fourth floor. Harry laughed at the phrasing, shaking his head.

“No, it’s not.”

“Good. I’ll need to make a quick stop at mine first, though, see you later?”

Harry nodded. “Sure, room is 11-D, come when you are ready.” Scorpius winked at him getting down on his floor as the door closed again separating them.

The quick stop lasted over an hour.

Harry had the time to take a shower to melt away all the soreness in his muscles for the long walks, change into a clean swimsuit and answer all the messages he had ignored during the afternoon. Nothing urgent, most were from his children updating him on their day, and a few from possible hook-ups.

He looked at the Italian version of champagne he ordered, wondering if it would be necessary to cast a Stasis Charm to keep it cold after the ice melted. Better safe than sorry, he thought waving his wand.

He paced around the room. It was possible Scorpius changed his mind, it happened before, but he could have let him know, it was the polite thing to do. He ran a hand through his hair, carefully styled after the shower. It was getting too long, so he made himself a note to call his barber as soon as he went back to London.

He was about to give up hope and change back into his robe when he heard a knock on the door.

“Looks like we had the same idea,” Scorpius said coming into the room, a bottle of sparkling white wine in his hands, eyeing the one Harry ordered, by then floating in a pool of melted ice.

“I brought dessert,” he added, handing Harry a bowl of strawberries.

His presence worked like magic, melting away Harry’s irritation.

Turning to offer Scorpius a glass of the wine he had opened, Harry gasped finding him naked on the door to the terrace. The moonlight enhanced the fairness of his skin, and, with his arm resting against the glass door, Scorpius looked like one of the statues they had admired that afternoon, ethereal and breath-taking.

Harry didn’t complain about the clothes he had thrown on the ground beside the bed. His body reacted immediately at the view; his cock jerked up and his hands itched, the want to touch him turning into need.

“It’s beautiful,” Scorpius whispered walking out on the terrace.

Harry couldn’t agree more. “It truly is,” he said, reaching him to kiss his neck, hand on his hip, nuzzling against his hair. He cast a bunch of protective spells, just in case some of his neighbors decided to come out to enjoy their terraces as well.

“Thank you, but I was talking about that,” Scorpius chuckled pointing at the Colosseum, so close they could almost touch it, and the _Fori Imperiali_ beside it, beaming under hundreds of lights in all their timeless beauty. He leaned back against Harry’s chest, a deep sigh slipping through his lips.

It was a warm, cloudless night, stars shone above them despite the city lights at their feet. The jasmines on the terrace were in full bloom, filling the air with their sweet scent.

“It’s better than the pictures, they don’t make it justice,” Scorpius said.

With a last kiss behind his ear, Harry walked away, leaving him to admire the view. The wine he summoned came out on the terrace floating mid air followed by two glasses, all of which landed beside the lounger.

“So, are we turning this on or not?” Scorpius asked, walking past him, bending over to put his hands on the hot tube, flaunting his bare ass up in the air.

“I really don’t get you sometimes,” Harry said watching him fill the glasses and sit in the tub.

“What’s there to get? I just wanted the bubbles I was promised.”

Harry snorted at the delighted sound Scorpius made once he was surrounded by bubbling water.

“Are you coming in?” Scorpius teased him with a low voice. Harry ran his finger over his jaw line before sitting next to him and accepting the glass he was handed. He lifted his eyes feeling Scorpius’ gaze on himself as he sipped the wine.

“What?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking that you look very pretty tonight.”

At that, Harry blushed, speechless. Scorpius could be childish when he wanted to, but there were moments when he stared at him with such intensity Harry got glimpses of the man he was becoming, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He dreaded the moment Draco’s genes would take over, despite how different his son seemed.

Harry shook the thought of Malfoy out of his head.

“I think I owe you a thank you for today, it was fun.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Scorpius smiled, a dangerous sparkle in his eyes. “You know, there’s plenty you could do to show me just how thankful you are.”

Harry smirked tilting his head to kiss Scorpius’ cheek, “Thank you.” He then kissed him on his neck, “Thank you.” He put his arm around Scorpius’ waist to pull him onto his lap; he laughed, but straddled his thighs anyway. Harry continued with his teasing and thanking. A peck on his throat, a bite on the dip of his collar bone, kisses up on his jaw line and then he took the lobe of his ear between his teeth, all while his hands caressed his back and chest, and then down on his thigh.

Harry bent to wrap the tip of his tongue around his nipple, sucking it until it got hard in his lips. He straightened up to bury his face into Scorpius’ neck as his fingers ran down his thighs to his buttocks. He heard the cling of the glass when Scorpius put it down on the hot tub next to his.

Scorpius threw his hands over Harry’s shoulders to lift himself up, allowing better access to his body, exactly what Harry was waiting for. With a low growl, he brushed his fingers down Scorpius’ inner thigh, beyond his testicle, tasting around for his opening, his other hand firm on Scorpius’ lower back to support him and hold him there.

He gasped at Harry’s finger pushing through the ring of muscles into his body.

Harry worked him gently, only then conjuring lube on his finger to avoid spills into the water still bubbling around them, loud enough to cover their moans.

Harry smirked, twisting his fingers around, teasing and stretching him; he observed Scorpius’ face, studying all the details in the expressions he made, changing at every move of his fingers. The hold around his neck got tighter and tighter as Scorpius got closer to the edge. He shivered and twisted in his embrace, those reactions encouraged him to push his fingers deeper inside him.

“Wait,” Scorpius cried out, shooting his hand into the water to grab Harry’s wrist, “I don’t want to come like this.”

Harry kissed him under his chin, “How do you want to come?”

Scorpius looked at him, a storm brewing in his eyes, darkened by the lust still running through his veins; he freed Harry’s cock and stroked it despite it being already hard and throbbing. Harry hissed at the feeling of cold water against his sensitive skin, closed his eyes and rested his arms on the hot tube, melting under Scorpius’ touch.

He felt him shift against his body, and he still jerked up at the feeling of his opening squeezing the head of his cock; Harry watched as his lover lowered his hips to take him all, his body stretching and wrapping itself around his cock, now buried inside him.

Curious about it, Harry held still, leaving Scorpius in charge, fascinated by the focused expression on his face as he began moving his hips searching for his pleasure.

It was enticing. Harry wondered what else Scorpius could do given free range. A shiver ran down his spine, the thought of the prize Scorpius did deserve spinning around in his mind. He had proved himself quite the match to Harry, challenging and surprising him at every turn, jumping through every hoop Harry had put before him.

He closed his fist around Scorpius’ cock, stroking it as he pulled him closer into a kiss, hungry and wet and needy, Scorpius’ tongue tangling with his, caressing it, matching once again his own lust.

Just like he started it, Harry broke the kiss, a smug smirk on his face at Scorpius’ disappointed whine, but then he stroked his cock again, running his thumb on the dark pink head popping out of the water following Scorpius’ moves.

“You have such a beautiful cock, kitten,” he whispered nuzzling against his neck, “So perfect and thick, it makes my mouth water.” He smiled at the growl grasping Scorpius’ throat.

“What an interesting reaction. You like it when I talk to you like this, don’t you, kitten? Telling you how good you are to me, how good you make me feel…” Harry kept his voice low and throaty talking into Scorpius’ ear.

“You are so hot that you make me forget about everything else, you are _that_ good. Yeah, just like that, come for me, kitten.”

Harry kept talking while Scorpius tensed around him, his pace lost its rhythm as his orgasm dragged Harry over the edge too, in a white-hot eruption that left him breathless and barely conscious of Scorpius weighing on his chest, wrapped tight around him with his arms and thighs.

In moments like these, Harry felt light and empty-headed, all his problems safely tucked away in the back of his mind, ready to jump back again once the bliss had gone. He could lie to himself, which he did quite a lot already, ignoring that this, whatever it was, was the closest thing to a relationship he had after Ginny. For years he had told himself it didn’t matter, that he was just mourning the loss of what he had with his wife, what he thought would last for the rest of their life but was dimmed little by little by the routine of a lifetime together to the point the last spark between them had died down without neither of them doing anything to save it.

So now Harry lived for the little sparkles he could get out of a stranger at the bar, or the boyfriends and girlfriends that seemed to leave as fast as they came. Not that he cared that much, they simply didn’t fill the void left by Ginny. She had been everything to him in the rubbles that was his life after the war, and she had been there pushing and tugging and helping him putting it back together, she had been his rock and still was, years after their marriage had ended.

And now she had found happiness once again, and with Pansy Parkinson of all people. Harry had the invitation to their mid-September wedding pinned on his fridge back at home and the role of Ginny’s best man was gladly accepted as soon as she asked, despite Jamie complaining it would be too weird.

Truth was, it didn’t feel weird at all. He saw how happy Ginny was with Pansy and, despite the jokes between Ginny and him about marrying a Slytherin, it was obvious to anybody who had eyes that Pansy was, if possible, even more smitten. Harry joked they had never been closer than now she was marrying somebody else, but Ginny had begun nagging him that it was time for him to find someone too.

Problem with that, Harry was fine like he was. He loved his job, his friends and his kids. He was fine, despite feeling lonely every now and then. All the time spent chasing Scorpius’ pants didn’t help either. He was everything Ginny wasn’t. Unpredictable where she had been steady, cocky instead of confident, scorching Fiendfyre when she was a warming fireplace, she felt like home, and safe and peace, when Scorpius kept him on his toes.

Harry had spent months guarding himself, waiting for Scorpius to get bored of the novelty of shagging Harry Potter, a man double his age who also happened to be the father of his childhood friend, despite the two boys growing apart after their sixth year at Hogwarts. Harry had always wondered what had happened between them, but Albus still refused to talk about it and his instincts warned him against bringing it up with Scorpius, who was still resting against his chest and caressing the arm around his waist.

“Where did you go just now?” he asked, lifting his head to look at him.

“Nowhere, I’m right here,” Harry answered, running his fingers through his quiff, pushing it back on Scorpius’ head, but he frowned, his eyes crossed by an emotion that melted away before Harry could identify it.

Carefully, Scorpius untangled himself from his embrace to sit back at his side, filling the glasses once again.

“This is nice,” he smiled, “One could get used to it. His smiling face gave out no clue what he was referring to, leaving Harry confused. He never had to guess what Ginny was thinking, because she would always tell him, whether he wanted to hear it or not, with Scorpius instead, he felt like they were playing a game he didn’t know the rules of.

At the beginning it was fun, the sneaking around, the secret looks they exchanged, all the forbidden-fruit thing of sleeping with a man so much younger, a Malfoy nonetheless, it all had been so exciting Harry had never stopped to think of the consequences of his actions; but now, almost seven months later, all those things had began weighing on him. The sneaking, the hiding and the lying had lost their charm.

And yet, he dreaded bringing the subject up with Scorpius, so young and free and uninhibited, Harry doubted that discussion would end well.

“You’re doing it again.” Annoyance spilled out of Scorpius’ voice.

“Doing what?”

“That’s the face you make when you let your mind go down some weird rabbit hole, Albus does the same thing.”

Tension rose between them at the drop of that name, but when Harry gazed in his direction, Scorpius was focused on his glass, every emotion on his face concealed behind his polite mask.

If there was one thing Harry had learnt during his career on the field, it was the ability to read a room, and in that moment the room was demanding a change of subject. Harry asked the first thing that came to mind. “What would you like for dinner?” to which Scorpius replied with a tilted smile.

Harry had no idea what he needed to do to improve Scorpius’ mood, because he never had to. As far as he remembered, Scorpius had only showed him two moods, cocky and horny. They also had never spent so much time together, one of the reasons he didn’t ask Scorpius to vacation together in the first place; away in a place they didn’t know anybody else, the bubble they lived in got smaller.

Food seemed to be a good buffer, melting the tension in the air as Scorpius talked about the vineyards his mother owned in Provence and the kind of wines they produced and how much he loved spending his summers there as a kid. Harry listened to him, doing his best not to get lost in his thoughts again.

By the time they arrived at the dessert, Scorpius was smiling again, eating the strawberries he brought and demanding to taste Harry’s chocolate cake.

His mood got even better once they went back to bed. The first rays of sun shone through the windows before their lust was finally sated and Harry fell asleep with Scorpius tucked into his arms.

And yet, when he woke up a few hours later, he was alone.

Scorpius had left a note asking to meet later in the afternoon, but nothing else.

Harry rubbed his eyes, once again puzzled by his behavior. He was led to believe things were alright between them, they had shagged with so much passion and energy the night before, and then Scorpius disappeared for the whole day with just a stupid note as explanation.

He tidied up and cleaned all the traces of the night they spent together, but he could do nothing for the memories burnt in his mind and body.

Time seemed to slow down every time he checked it. Harry had gone back to bed, but sleep never came. He had rolled around between the sheets, still drenched in Scorpius’ scent, restless. He picked up his book, but found himself reading the same lines over and over, unable to focus on the words before his eyes, his mind reliving every moment of the night before, looking for clues, but he got nothing. He threw his book away in frustration.

When he gave up and called Scorpius, he didn’t pick up. Harry couldn’t believe it. He stormed out of the room, diving into the crowded streets around the Colosseum. He had lunch in a small, family-owned restaurant he found by chance as he walked around trying to quiet his mind. The patrons were mostly locals, because they all seemed to speak the same language with the exaggerated hand gestures and he didn’t understand a word of it.

He sat at his table in the corner, brewing over the bad feeling in his chest that not even the delicious meal could alleviate.

In the back of his mind flashed the need to get off that rollercoaster of emotions that was Scorpius Malfoy. With his 45th birthday coming up, perhaps it was time to stop playing around and settle down once and for all. He was sure Ginny and Hermione could come up with a list of suitable – and age appropriate – people for him to date if only he had asked, and yet the idea was just as appealing as kissing one of Neville’s toads.

Also, the thought of never holding Scorpius into his arms again was unbearable, but Harry swallowed that feeling with a big sip of wine, hoping to wash it away.

He was the adult of the situation, it was his duty to break things off if Scorpius couldn’t bring himself to do so.

Harry knew he was being dramatic, but he couldn’t help it. Scorpius seemed to have made a hobby of tearing down all his defenses without ever giving up something of his own. Harry always felt kept at arms-length, with Scorpius’ body as prize to make up for all his games and the times he had left Harry hanging like an idiot because he had changed his mind, or got distracted or found something else to do.

For Godric’s sake, he had learnt more things about him in those two days in Rome than in all those months back at home.

Harry thought about blowing him off, he really did. He looked for a convincing excuse. He could inform Scorpius over text and then go somewhere he wouldn’t be found. Heck, if it came to it, he could ride the subway in a random direction and go explore Rome by himself. He did think about it, he had the perfect plan, but a few minutes before six he was ordering a drink at the hotel bar, glad there was a woman working behind the counter and not the guy he saw flirting with Scorpius the morning before.

He drank in silence, the dark cloud of thoughts hadn’t left his mind yet.

“Hi,” Scorpius said sitting down by his side.

Harry put down his glass and looked at him, “Hello,” He looked different, his skin was a bit darker, his eyes redder.

“You have sunbathed,” Harry realised.

“I went to the beach with a few people I met at the pool.”

Scorpius looked away to order another round while Harry studied his face. Despite the dark circles under his eyes, he looked relaxed, sipping on his orange drink with a smirk on his face.

“I have a thing planned for tonight if you are up to it.”

Harry paused, glancing at the young man beside him. All the frustration he had managed to soothe came back bubbling in his chest. The thought of blowing him off for real crossed his mind, but then he noticed his knuckles, whitened in the strength he was holding his glass with. His chin, tilted lower than usual and his chest still as Scorpius held his breath waiting for his answer.

So he nodded and followed him outside the hotel, wondering when Scorpius began being nervous around him, or if he always was and Harry simply didn’t notice before.

Harry didn’t recognise the neighborhood they Apparated in, although to be fair, he wouldn’t have recognised any place in Rome if it wasn’t for the landmarks, but this felt different. Along the road they didn’t find any of the shops that catered to tourists. The buildings surrounding it were more recent and mundane, and the people walking by seemed focused on their own lives rather than on the palaces around them. Right then Harry realised Scorpius was leading him down a residential area. They stopped before an anonymous building where they were buzzed in.

“This was actually a suggestion from grandma, I hope you don’t mind,” Scorpius pointed out as they reached the fourth floor; his words did nothing to appease Harry’s confusion, instead they made him suspicious. He surely wasn’t expecting the middle-aged couple welcoming them into their apartment which looked like a museum to the eighties.

“Scorpius?” he asked, looking in his direction for an explanation, and it was then he noticed the kitchen counter, big enough to seat at least eight people, full of ingredients, cooking utensils and equipment.

“Welcome to your very first Italian cooking class!”

Scorpius shrugged, so Harry brought his attention back on the lady who was still making small talk, her accent betraying her Irish origins; he half listened while she introduced herself and her Italian husband, who was fussing around the kitchen, preparing the missing ingredients and filling glasses of wine for everybody to toast with.

“Cooking lesson?” Harry asked when the couple led them to the balcony and then left them alone to tip their wine, but Scorpius shrugged once again.

“Grandma insisted. She said it would be a waste to come here and not learn at least one dish, and I thought it might be fun.”

Harry mulled over those words. Scorpius looked nervous again, chewing on his lip and avoiding his eyes, so he held out his half empty glass, “To our first cooking lesson,” he toasted, smiling at the surprise on Scorpius’ face. Whether the grandma story was real or not, he had put enough effort into their evening. Harry had lost any animosity. He loved to cook and, truth be told, he happened to agree with Scorpius’ grandma.

“Which grandma suggested this?”

Scorpius blinked at him before answering, “Nana Adele, nana Cissy is not much of a cook.”

Harry chuckled, he did have trouble imagining Narcissa Malfoy inside a kitchen for something other than bossing her house-elves around.

Before any of them could say another word, the lady came back with their aprons and the menus of the dishes they would be preparing under her and her husband’s guidance.

Scorpius was right, they did have fun. The lady, Karen, managed to make them comfortable with her warmth and sweet manners that reminded Harry of Molly Weasley, while Mario, her husband, taught them the correct way to knead and then shape the pasta they made from scratch.

“You ok?” Harry asked when he noticed Scorpius struggle with the dough, way stickier than Mario’s.

“This is harder than I thought,” he sneered, shaking his hand to get it off his fingers. Their host showed nothing but patience despite the mess they made in the kitchen. Harry did notice the few looks that they exchanged, with Mario seeming on the verge of tears at how they were butchering his simple instructions.

Luckily for everybody involved, Scorpius was discouraged to get closer to the open flames on the stove, a decision Harry heartily approved after watching him make an egg explode between his fingers when he was only supposed to open it.

Dessert was easier to handle. Harry whipped the cream as Scorpius dipped the biscuits into the coffee.

Without any further incident, soon they were both sitting at the table on the balcony sipping wine and resting.

“I love this view,” Scorpius whispered. Gazing at the river at their feet and the city behind it, Harry couldn’t agree more.

“You were right, this was fun,” he smiled before tasting the spaghetti Mario had put in front of him. He was suspicious of the raw eggs, but the smell of fried bacon bits and freshly grated pepper made his mouth water. And of course it was good. He should have known Italians knew what they were doing when it came to pasta.

Scorpius sighed, “Well, I didn’t die, I count that as a win.”

Harry smiled back at him, it was undeniable to say that cooking was not his forte.

“And you didn’t kill any of us, that’s a double win,” he teased him; Scorpius patted on his arm and pouted, but his eyes shone in amusement.

Harry had forgotten all about his anger. Scorpius brought so much light into his life it was impossible for him to stay mad at him. Everything about him was disarmingly charming, even the traces of flour on his cheek.

Time flew by among food, jokes, wine and banter back and forth. Before they knew it they were drinking shots of homemade liquor with a strong lemon taste Mario kept offering them. Ice cold, it still burned Harry’s throat as he swallowed it.

The road back to the hotel was a blur. Harry had to lean in against the building in the alley that they Apparated in to stop his vision from spinning. The sultry air did not help, it felt like breathing into the steam of a hot shower.

Drinking alcohol had been a bad idea, and Harry regretted the last shot he took before leaving the apartment. “We need a sobering charm.”

Scorpius, fanning himself with his hand, nodded.

Stepping inside the hotel, a wave of chilly air from the AC hit them; the contrast in temperature was enough to make them shiver, but Harry sighed in relief, glad for the cooling feeling on his skin. The hall was buzzing with guests coming in and going out; from the bar, filled up to the door, came the tune of some muggle song Harry did not appreciate as it resounded in his stomach. He swallowed, fastening his walk to the lifts.

In a blink, the spell made him feel much better. The world stopped spinning. He laid on his bed next to Scorpius, by then accustomed to the lower temperature and able to enjoy it without quivering.

It was nice, laying there, the soft blanket caressing his skin and traces of Scorpius’ scent tickling his nose. Harry closed his eyes, breathing it in, a silly smile on his face as the sobering spell went in full effect, leaving his mind clearer. He wished things could always be like that, so safe and quiet, but a weird feeling poked the back of his head, the same feeling he learnt to associate to a lightning strike, or a hex cast against him.

He turned to Scorpius, who sat up on the bed, hugging his knees and gaze lost in whatever was going through his mind.

Scorpius sighed when he noticed Harry was looking at him, running a hand through his hair, “I think this was a mistake.”

Those words catching him off guard, Harry furrowed his brows, “What?”

“This. Us. Here, together.”

“Why would you say that?” he asked as Scorpius got up and began pacing around the room.

“Because I love being here with you, playing couple, but I know it’s different for you, and I know there are things you are not telling me, so yeah, this was a mistake.”

“Scorpius…”

He lifted his hand to signal him to stop talking, “Don’t, ok? Just say it. I promise I won’t make a scene if that’s what worries you. I’m an adult, I can take it.”

Harry shook his head, “You’re twenty-one”, but Scorpius interrupted him again.

“Still. I need you to say it.”

Harry pressed his lips together, “You really want me to be honest with you?” he asked despite not knowing which answer he feared the most. Tension rose in the room, so dense Harry could taste it in his mouth. Scorpius had burst the bubble they had been living in, and he had to look for the right words to go through that discussion without hurting him more than it was necessary. He sat on the bed with his hands on his lap.

Scorpius nodded, “Mmh-mmh”, stopping before him.

“Yes, this is nice, but it pointed out that things are not working,” Harry sighed, “This, whatever it is, it’s not working for me anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Harry paused, chewing over the words on his tongue before spitting them out, “You are young, and I get it. You are beautiful and smart, you can have everything you want just by snapping your fingers, and that’s ok, that’s normal, but I’m older, I need more, I need someone I can depend on. You come and go as you please, only show up when you are horny…”

The look Scorpius gave him froze the rest of his speech in his throat. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Language…” Harry scolded him before he could stop himself.

Scorpius growled back at him, “Fuck language, you are not my dad.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath, calming down before speaking again, “Do you really think I’m ok with how things are? I thought this was what _you_ wanted, a nice piece of ass you could shag whenever you wanted and then forget about,” Scorpius’ voice broke and he turned around to hide his face. Harry gasped at his words, ready to defend himself, but Scorpius wasn’t done.

“Of course I want _more_ , but how the hell am I supposed to ask for it, this is already fucked up as it is. You are Harry bloody Potter, and Albus’ dad, you would think that was good enough to stop liking you, but I can’t, I’ve tried” Scorpius shook his head, licking his lips.

“At first I thought you were just a cool dad, you know, cooler than mine at least, but then Al told me you liked men too, and how was I supposed to stop thinking about it.”

Scorpius never raised his voice, his tone remained low and calm, matter-of-factly, which pulled the strings of Harry’s heart even more. The hurt he felt deeply infused in his voice, echoing into every word.

“I never thought I could ever have something with you. But then you noticed me and brought me back to your place, and I thought this is it, this is how far I can get, so I tried to be nice and funny, hoping you wouldn’t get tired of me, and now you tell me that’s still not good enough…”

Harry finally interrupted him, “That’s not what I said…”

“I know,” Scorpius rebuked “You are just tired of my behavior, as if you didn’t do the same things. When was the last time you asked me how I was? Or you just called me because you wanted to hear from me and not because you had a boner?”

“Scorpius…” Harry tried again, but Scorpius was having none of it.

He stopped the pacing, looking at him dead in the eyes, “Just tell me, when?”

Harry opened his mouth and then closed it again without uttering a single word. In his mind he ran back to all the times he had blown off Scorpius. All the times he had pushed him away. All the times he had grumbled, and complained and scolded and rolled his eyes when Scorpius would still come back, and made him feel light and wanted and young. He gritted his teeth. Scorpius had forgiven him every single time. He had come back every single time, and Harry had been too blinded by his own bias to see it.

“I’ve been an asshole to you, haven’t I?”

Scorpius lifted his eyes on his face and smirked, “Yes.”

He sat beside him as Harry sighed, “I had no idea you felt this way.”

“Well, I never told you.”

The man smiled, opening up to the possibilities that were presented in front of him. It was a leap in the dark, but perhaps they could find a way to make it work. Probably an uphill all out battle, but he guessed he could live with a little less adoring crowd in his life, the real problem would be his family, and his kids in particular. Nothing in the world was worth hurting them.

Harry lips curled up in a bitter smile, “What we want might not be enough” he warned. He left it at that, sure Scorpius would get what he was referring to.

“I know. I’m pretty sure my dad will kill me.”

“He’d probably kill me first,” Harry chuckled. It had been a while since he and Draco had a proper fight; to think of it, it happened almost two years before, when Ginny and Pansy had a housewarming party to try and mix their respective families and friends. It didn’t end well because Harry and Draco ended up punching each other, but he suspected shagging his only son would irritate Draco way more than not being able to appreciate the expensive wine the Malfoys brought as a gift for the couple.

“I’m not saying let’s run away and get married, but I think it would be stupid of you not to give me a chance,” Scorpius said, his eyes focused on his hands, “I’m a catch,” he then mumbled.

Harry smiled at the traces of smugness blooming back in his voice, “You mean like dating,” It wasn’t really a question, Scorpius had made his intention pretty clear, but still Harry needed him to say it out loud.

“Yeah, that would be nice. And we could keep it to ourselves for now, see if it works before we go public.”

“You’ve given this a lot of thought,” Harry replied after letting out a long sigh.

He saw Scorpius nod from the corner of his eye, “I have.”

As he pondered on his words, Harry took a deep breath. Things escalated quite quickly, but that was what he came to expect when it came to Scorpius. His mind got to work. For sure it would not be easy, but looking into his bright grey eyes, Harry was certain that they ought to at least try.

**Author's Note:**

> This work is part of the 2020 Harry Potter Cross Gen Fest. The author will be revealed at the end of August.


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